<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Moment of Relief by Nymph (Treekianthia)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26146438">A Moment of Relief</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/Nymph'>Nymph (Treekianthia)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comfort, F/M, Ficlet, Inspired by Fanart, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Present Tense</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:27:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,009</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26146438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/Nymph</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to Mercedes, Dimitri is able to find a moment of temporary relief from the ghosts that haunt him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Mercedes von Martritz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Moment of Relief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by this wonderful piece of art: https://twitter.com/artsy_oleander/status/1298462994045841409?s=20</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Dimitri, come here…”</p><p>Mercedes beckons for him to sit next to her. He looks at her quietly, unsure of what to do. The ghosts he sees tell him there is no time to rest, vengeance must come swiftly, but he is tired. Oh, so very tired. He has not slept in what feels like moons.</p><p>She continues to call to him as she gently pats the spot to her right. His eyelids feel heavy, and he is in desperate need of a moment of peace. He trudges over to her and looks into her bright eyes. Her smile is soft and welcoming, and it radiates a warmth he has not felt in a long time. The cries of the ghosts weaken.</p><p>“Please, rest Dimitri,” Mercedes says. Her voice is as soft as her smile. He glances to her left, noticing the sewing supplies she has brought with her. It seems she was in the middle of making something. She has always been good with needlework. </p><p>Dimitri gives in to her softness and sits next to her. The cathedral’s pew is hard and uncomfortable, but he has slept on far worse. Mercedes begins to hum as she picks up her needle and thread. Dimitri watches as she gets to work, mesmerized by how quickly her fingers work. Her hands have always looked so soft.</p><p>She pats her hand against her lap. “Go ahead and lay down, dear Dimitri. I will keep you safe from what haunts you.”</p><p>The voices of the dead cry out weakly, but they are unable to make any difference. Dimitri lays down, using Mercedes’ lap as a pillow, and closes his eye. His breathing, normally ragged, relaxes and follows a steady rhythm. He can hear Mercedes breathing as well, and tries to match his breathing with hers. It is calming.</p><p>Mercedes continues humming. It is a lullaby that Dimitri used to hear all the time as a child. His father would try to sing it to him to calm him down during the harshest of storms. It brings back memories, both good and bad, and the ghosts once again attempt to cry out.</p><p>
  <em> “Bring us her head…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “She deserves to be punished…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Do not let her escape…” </em>
</p><p>Dimitri inhales sharply, his face twisting into an expression of agony. Mercedes can tell, and she puts her sewing supplies down and places a hand on top of his head. She gently brushes fingers through his hair, still humming the song. Her touch is soft, and Dimitri feels himself relax. He can still feel the ghosts trying to gnaw at his soul, but the pain they cause is not strong.</p><p>Mercedes’ humming turns into singing, just barely above a whisper. Her voice is beautiful, unmatched by any other person Dimitri has heard before. The lullaby feels like it has different meaning when she sings it, and the bad memories begin to fade.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Child of the Azure Moon, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Rest your weary eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Let your dreams come to you,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Under the starry skies.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, sweet winter child,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lay yourself back down.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Rest upon your golden throne,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dreaming of your crown.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dreaming child in the night,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hold the stars in your hand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Brighter than any light,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As you rule this land.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri feels the ghosts vanishing around him, giving him temporary relief. He knows they will be back, but Mercedes’ lullaby has forced them into silence. He is able to rest without fear, exhaustion consuming his body.</p><p>Mercedes stops brushing her fingers through his hair and returns to her work. Dimitri listens to her hands as she pulls the needle and thread, the quiet noises bringing him comfort. He remembers the times she tried to teach him, and how he broke everything that she ever gave him. She never scolded him, and instead tried to continue to teach him. No matter how many needles broke or threads snapped, she did not give up on him.</p><p>Even now, she does not give up on him. Even if he pushes others away, she still comes to him and tries to calm the ghosts. Every night she talks to him, even if he does not respond. She brings him tea and food, anything to help him keep his energy. He does not understand why she is so insistent, but he is appreciative for the relief she has brought him. There is much that he owes her.</p><p>“Do you feel any better, dear Dimitri?” she asks him. He does not respond at first, instead letting himself relax more. His eyelids still feel heavy, and he is ready to sleep. He needs the rest after going without it for so long.</p><p>“Sleep…” he manages to slip out. No other words are able to escape his lips, and he feels himself slipping away into the depths of slumber. There is another small cry telling him he cannot rest, but he is able to ignore it. Mercedes gently brushes his hair behind his ear.</p><p>“Sleep for as long as you need… I will be here when you wake up,” she promises him. Her voice is distant, but he knows it is because he is fading away into the realm of dreams. He wonders if he will have another nightmare of his family and friends’ deaths, or if it will be a dreamless sleep. He does not expect a good dream, as they have not come to him in a long time.</p><p>“Mercedes…” he whispers quietly. He can feel her gently placing a hand on his cheek. Her hand is really as soft as he thought it would be.</p><p>“I’m here…” she says, her voice more and more far away. “I’ll always be here, dear Dimitri…”</p><p>Is he asleep now, her voice a distant dream? He is unable to tell. His body is in such a state where he no longer feels awake, but the sounds of the waking world are still in his ears. He is gone, faded into nothing, waiting for time to pass. He tries to speak, whether in a dream or in reality.</p><p>“Thank you, Mercedes…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Me, going on break during work and seeing three twitter message notifs: Ah, there must be a piece of art that my friends really want me to see.</p><p>My crops have been watered and my skin has been cleared. Somebody has finally drawn something for my precious FE3H OTP, and all is good in the world. Of course, I was instantly inspired and had to write something for it when I had free time!</p><p>This isn't my normal writing style, but I experimented with it a few days ago with another piece and liked it, so I figured I'd give it another shot!</p><p>Message to the Artist: If you have an AO3 account and want me to gift this to you, please let me know!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>